Saturday, December 31, 2016

I know that for many, 2016 was a year that couldn't end soon enough. But for me, it was an incredibly kind year, filled with wonderful surprises and reminders of the blessings in my life. To start with, I found out on Valentine's Day that my husband and I were expecting our second child, and then gave birth in October. I had some great adventures, visiting Amherst, MA on the coldest day of the year (cannot wait to go back to see it in warmer weather!), and Philadelphia, on one of the warmest days, where I could easily spend a lifetime exploring all that the city has to offer. I also feel as though I made great strides in my artwork, testing myself with tight deadlines, creating pieces off of topics decided by others, and commission work. And I have gotten a lot more comfortable openly sharing my artwork, which has always given me a varying level of anxiety. I look forward to what 2017 has to offer, but hope that it doesn't fly by!

(Note: Above is my latest painting, done for the SCBWI postcard contest. The requirements were to include a kite, which is the adopted symbol of the SCBWI. The selected winners will have their artwork featured on postcards printed for the SCBWI offices. I didn't win, but I am extremely proud of the piece. As I have two young children that I am staying at home to raise, I relate to the mother bird being unable to leave her nest. It is so nice when you can still communicate with friends!)

Saturday, December 3, 2016

I am very excited to announce that my painting for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators was selected as one of the two winners for its November Draw This! competition. This means so much to me, not only because there are a lot of other very talented artists who participated, but also because this challenge allowed me to say something more with my artwork. This piece is featured on the front page of scbwi.org. You can find the full gallery of participants here: http://drawthisvote.blogspot.com/

SCBWI will be taking a short hiatus from the Draw This! competition to focus on their winter conference and will return in February 2017 with a new prompt word. I can't wait to see what they have planned next!

Thursday, December 1, 2016

No matter your political stance, I think that everyone would agree that we had quite the contentious 2016 US Presidential election. Even the day after was dark and soggy here in the NYC area. When I first received the SCBWI monthly Insight bulletin in my inbox and saw the prompt word for vote, I was at a loss for how to handle the topic. But after election day, with a toddler and newborn at home, I ultimately decided to focus on the positive. I hope that the good vibes from this piece can inspire a bright future.

October was quite an event packed month for me. I had expected that with the arrival of my second child that it would be, but with an earlier than expected birth date, things have been a bit chaotic!I began the month hoping to take part in Inktober, a 31 day celebration of art using any medium of ink: pen, marker, mixed media with ink. I was able to complete 16 of the 31 days. I decided to use a theme for my drawings, and selected Halloween, one of my favorite holidays. I also decided to use the daily prompt words, selected by the illustrious Jake Parker, founder of Inktober. Here are the first 8 drawings: